by Karen Anders
“Who is it?” she whispered, and Dex put his mouth to her ear, letting her know and telling her to stay quiet. Who the hell were these guys? The man reached back and pulled out a weapon, and from the way he held it, Dex could tell he was either law enforcement or military.
“Cops, I think. We’ve got to get out of here,” he whispered. He pulled open the door and he and Piper moved as fast as they could toward the back door.
In true cop fashion, one of them had been sent to the back. Dex stood to the side, dragging Piper after him.
The guy came through the door, leading with his gun. Dex handed his to Piper. No way was he killing a cop. Silently Dex slipped behind him. He got him into a headlock and the guy elbowed Dex in the ribs, right into his wound. He cried out, but didn’t let go, just tightened his arm around the guy’s neck, but the other man broke free and threw a punch, knocking Dex into the sink. Glassware, silverware and plates tumbled off the counter, hitting the floor with a terrible crash.
His partner shouted something from the front and Dex heard him ram the door, trying to get in. Dex wrestled with the second guy until he heard the metallic hum and a thud.
The guy dropped and Piper stood there with a frying pan in her hand. He grabbed her by the arm and they burst out of the back door as the sound of splintering wood came from the front of the house.
They ran down the driveway and didn’t stop running until they hit the metro.
Doug Utley’s Home,
Washington, DC
“Are you all right?” Austin asked as he extended his hand to help Derrick stand. He wobbled a bit and Austin steadied him.
“Damn,” Derrick said with a low growl, rubbing the back of his head. “Kaczewski is one strong son of a bitch.”
“Did you get clocked by a frying pan?” Austin tried to keep the humor out of his voice.
He obviously failed because Derrick gave him a narrowed look. “Yeah, the senator wields a mean one.”
“Are you sure it was them?” Austin bent down and retrieved Derrick’s gun and handed it to him.
“Yeah, it was dim, but I recognized him and he had a blonde with him.”
“That was a good call, thinking they would come here.”
“Where the hell does this dead PI fit in?”
“I don’t know, but this has been one of the most interesting, confusing cases I’ve ever been on. We better check in and I think we ought to just go to bed and get some sleep. You need a doctor?”
“No, I’ve got a hard head.”
“Freeze. Don’t move a muscle.”
Austin and Derrick raised their hands. “Great,” Austin grumbled as the cop took their weapons and cuffed them.
“We’re NCIS,” he said as they hauled them out of the house.
“We’ll get this straightened out downtown, gentlemen.”
Kai wasn’t going to be happy.
And she wasn’t, but she talked to the DC brass and after an hour they released Derrick and Austin with a request if they had any information regarding Doug Utley’s death they would share.
When they got back to the hotel room and got ready for bed, surprisingly Austin couldn’t sleep. It was pretty clear that Kaczewski and Jones were holed up somewhere in DC that had good access to downtown, and they were in the process of figuring out who was trying to kill her. In their shoes, he’d do the same.
He pushed back the covers and grabbed his laptop. On a hunch, he started searching social media. When he saw that Dexter’s mother had an account, he started hacking.
Suburbs of Washington, DC
“I can’t believe this,” she raged as she and Dex entered the house and he set the alarm. He gently caught her shoulders.
“We’re going to figure this out.”
“How? Our best lead is dead, his office trashed and his computer smashed.”
He caught her against him.
“We’re going to figure this out,” he said again, his voice a little fiercer, his hands squeezing her shoulders.
She nodded, not trusting herself to say anything for fear she would break down completely. She didn’t want to feel hopeless, but nothing, not one tiny thing, had gone their way tonight. The night had been a complete bust.
Dex wrapped his arms around her and held her for a moment, hugging her, but when her arms snaked around his waist, he made a soft, pained sound.
“Oh, Dex. I’m sorry.”
“I’m okay,” he said, but she wasn’t convinced. The man had taken enough blows to his wound to last her a lifetime. She peeled up his shirt and took a quick breath. No blood and the stitches were still intact. “Looks like you’re going to bruise.” She pressed gingerly around the area and he grunted.
“Who do you think those guys were?” she asked, taking his hand and dragging him into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, pulled out one of the soft ice packs in there, wrapped it in a kitchen towel and pressed it to his side.
He shrugged. “They looked like cops to me.”
“They were the joggers who were chasing after us in the mall.”
“Could still be cops. Maybe detectives. Wouldn’t be a surprise if they were. DC would have dispatched homicide detectives over to Utley’s place. Now they know it wasn’t some carjacking.”
“Maybe. This is just one jumbled-up mess. Sit down,” she said, and he went to one of the stools and slid onto the seat.
“Let’s get something to eat,” he suggested, “and talk about this a bit.”
“I’ll cook. It’ll keep my hands and mind busy. I don’t know what there is to talk about.”
“Piper, I don’t want to cause you any more worry and pain than you’re already experiencing, but you’re right. I can’t twist the truth to save my life or help the fact that I think through every scenario.”
“What do you mean?”
“It occured to me that DC is a place where there is a tremendous amount of temptation to stray, to go down the wrong path for whatever purpose, be it money, power, recognition.”
She frowned, not quite sure where he was going with this. “Yes, there is a lot of corruption and greed. What is your point?”
Piper stared at him, her heart suddenly hammering, a sense of foreboding settling heavily in her. And she knew—just knew by the tightness in his voice, by the rigidity of his body—that what he had to say was going to change her world, rob whatever peace she might have eked out in the last eighteen months. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. She wrapped her arms around herself, her voice wobbling. “What is it?”
He straightened and his eyes reached out to her. Unnerved by the silence, she pressed her back into the counter, instinctively feeling the need for support, suddenly cold.
Bracing his hand on the countertop, he leaned forward and Piper experienced a disquieting chill. “Maybe Brad was dirty,” he said quietly.
His words seemed to echo in her head for a moment. Then they cut through her with slicing strokes of pain. It was as if someone threw ice-cold water in her face. She was speechless, iced to the bone. She had never for one second thought that Brad was the corrupt one. Dear God. If he had done something illegal and then it had caught up to him, he was responsible for his own death and the death of their child. She clutched her middle and doubled over.
Dex was there, but she could only feel a horrifying agony as if her insides had been ripped out of her, feeling so empty.
He made a helpless gesture with his hand, and for the first time it looked like he didn’t know what to do. “Jesus. I’m sorry, Piper. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
She couldn’t draw breath to even speak. The man she had loved, had given her heart to, had supported and protected and cherished, had conceived a child with...no, it was too much.
When she didn’t say anything, he scooped her up in his a
rms and carried her to the sofa. She shivered and shook and clutched at him as if he was the only solid, sure thing she had in her life.
He watched her as if she had gone somewhere he couldn’t follow, unease and apology in his eyes.
His warm voice caressed her and she remembered that he had been the man to stand by her. The heaviness in Piper’s chest increased as dread settled in and she felt as if she was at the edge of a dark, deep hole.
“Talk to me, babe,” he said, his voice strained with guilt.
She tucked her arms closer around her waist. What if Brad was dirty? She didn’t want to even contemplate that, but now that he’d said it, she couldn’t seem to dismiss it. Her gut said no. Every fiber of her being said no.
“I could be wrong. It was just a thought. A possibility.”
She made a soft sound.
“I’m an idiot. I’m going to stop talking now.” He groaned.
She really hadn’t known him that long. They’d been going on fast-forward since he put his life on the line for her, leaving her little time to think things through. She was overwhelmed by him on a sensual level that was off the charts. Had she been a complete fool? Anger blasted through her at him. “You didn’t know him. How do I know I can trust anyone? Even myself.”
“You can trust me, Piper. I won’t let you down. It’s just nothing makes sense, except that Brad was involved somehow. This all revolves around the accident and he was the target, the catalyst.”
She dropped her face into her hand and took a breath. She thought about that, the scope and depth of what he had already done for her, their bond. This was a man she could trust. She should be thanking her lucky stars he’d come into her life, not doubting him.
“You’re right. I know you are. You shouldn’t spare my feelings. If it’s the truth, then it needs to be...acknowledged and accepted.”
He sent his hand through his hair, his face contorted with remorse. “I’m so sorry about all this.”
“So am I. This is all my fault. I should go to my brother, get you out of this.”
He dragged her against him, held on to her, not letting her go, turning her face to his. “No, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Dex...”
“Hell, no.”
“But...”
“Piper,” he said, the gentle tone of his voice at complete odds with the riveting intensity of his eyes. “We’re in this together. We’re going to figure it out. Whatever it takes. I’m not abandoning you, so you can get that notion out of your head, right now.”
“I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”
“No, not part of my game plan. I have the skills for this, to protect you and figure this out.” He cupped her chin, capturing her gaze.
“Dex...”
He cut her off. “What kind of SEAL...what kind of man would I be if I left you?” His voice ragged, he said, “You matter to me.”
She couldn’t look away from the fire in his eyes. He was a man of honor, the kind of man who put his life on the line for strangers, to keep Americans safe, to protect and serve his country.
“I’m sorry I insulted you. You matter to me, too.”
He took her mouth then, silencing the rest of her protests with a kiss that left her breathless.
She was so scared to death something might happen to him she could barely think straight. Something shifted inside her as she ravaged his mouth. It was no surprise she reacted to him on such an intense physical level, but what terrified her and made her want to run in the other direction was the understanding of the depth of the connection she was forming with him. He was like that with everything, so focused and intent, whether it be her body or just what they were discussing. He was alert, always, to every nuance, every word, every sound, breath, scent and texture of the world around him. No wonder he scared the living hell out of her. It was intimidating to be on the receiving end of all that power.
She was in jeopardy, all right, but it had nothing to do with this dangerous situation and everything to do with Dex.
He lifted his head, but before he could move away, on instinct she framed his face in her hands, needing to feel him, needing to look into his eyes, needing to tell him what was going through her mind. “You matter. It scares me how much. I’m going to trust you... I do trust you. But if I’m going to care, then you can’t let anything happen to you. Ever.”
He smiled. “Ever, huh? That’s a tall order. I’ll do my damnedest. I have a vested interest in keeping us both safe and sound.”
He gathered her into his arms.
“Dex, your wound.”
“We’re going to get something in our systems, then we need some sleep. We’ll tackle this again tomorrow.”
He tucked her into the curve of his strong, warm body, and with each second she was near him she started to relax.
But her mind wouldn’t shut down.
“Dex...”
He tightened his hold on her. “In the morning, babe. Shut down that beautiful mind and just let it go until you’ve gotten some rest. You know, I could be wrong. Totally off base.”
She nodded, but as she let herself drift, she thought, What if he wasn’t? What if Brad betrayed me and everything he said had been a lie?
Chapter 14
Suburbs of Washington, DC
Since the accident happened, Piper had usually woken up out of a nightmare, but this morning it was different. She woke to the heated strength of Dex’s body and the knowledge that she might never get enough of him.
Something had shifted in her. Something had changed. Dex had shattered that glass wall she had between the Brad she had immortalized and the real Brad, making her examine not only her perceptions and beliefs of and about her deceased husband, but making her take stock of who she was now.
She realized that she had made herself an extension of him, thanks to pressures from her family; the mingling of two powerful families into one had put enormous pressure on Piper back then. She’d given up everything to be his political spouse, dedicated to making him the best senator possible, to forge their own political empire. Even now, today, she was still an extension of him. Still carrying out his wishes.
She hadn’t even considered what she would do when his term was up and she didn’t have all the responsibility of his political legacy to uphold any longer. Brad was gone and so were her parents, and Piper realized all of a sudden she had no goals beyond Brad’s term.
Dex shifted in his sleep, and the darkness in the room told her it was the middle of the night. The warmth of him felt so right against her, even in this bed that wasn’t hers and wasn’t his. In this safe place he had provided for them in his quick-thinking and competent manner.
Dex made her feel safe in a way no man ever had. Even Brad. With him, she had the constant fear she would let him down in some fundamental way. But with Dex, truly she could be herself. She wasn’t the woman who had married Brad any longer. She was Piper—not Brad Jones’s wife, his office manager or his sounding board. A woman who was competent in her own right, not just a Keighley, which made her realize that she was also not just an extension of her powerful political family name.
You look good in everything and nothing.
He was right. She was the one who defined herself. It made her sad that she had diminished herself. It wasn’t really Brad’s fault. He had been happy to accept her sacrifice because he’d wanted to build a legacy, as well. Had he wanted that so badly he’d compromised his principles?
She reached out and smoothed her hand down Dex’s side, her fingers catching on the stitches, and her heart turned over. Her battered, bruised and battle-hardened navy SEAL. He was inseparable from his profession, a career man. She knew it and it both made her want him and scared all at the same time. Jumbled-up emotions—moving on, falling in love again,
letting go, guilt and hunger. All of those needed to be sorted out before she could come to any conclusions.
She hiked herself closer to him, her world filled with the scent of citrus, cinnamon and sleepy, sexy man.
She sank her fingers into his hair, threading the silky strands through a couple of times before finding his mouth, loving the way his lips went pliant beneath hers, were so soft against hers as she took him slowly, sweetly.
He moaned softly. “Piper.”
“You were expecting someone else?” she whispered against his lips. Her fingers tightened in his hair, keeping his mouth warm and wet where she wanted it.
He chuckled, the amused sound a soft rumble in his chest. She pressed her body against his side, her leg going over his, the inside of her knee rubbing over his hard-on.
“You prepared for an early-morning assault, Lieutenant?”
“Babe, I’m always ready, anytime, anywhere.” Her hand replaced her knee as she stroked the length of him and he gasped. “The enemy never looked or felt this freaking...ahh...good.”
“Locked, loaded and cocked,” she murmured, and he lifted her and pulled her across his body with one powerful move.
She straddled his hips and he groaned again, the heat and length of him nestled between her legs. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d first met him, wrung out, losing it over the loss of his men. Then the first time he’d touched her with intent when he’d been out of his mind with fever, but even then he knew what he wanted. Her.
Her thoughts drifted there and clung to those moments like a lifeline, helping her to block out the present reality and spend some time in this sensual place. A reprieve. As he’d said, she’d leave it for the morning.
Right now she had a bare chest to explore. To do with what she wanted.
And beyond the bone-deep fatigue, beyond the sheer terror and almost debilitating fear...there was a wealth of longing.
Her entire world narrowed down to the smooth expanse of his honeyed skin wrapped oh-so-tautly across his chest. She dipped her head and drew her tongue slowly from his collarbone down to the valley between his pecs, and then teased her way over to his nipple.